Playing with Time
by ChaosKirin
Summary: James discovers something in the basement of the Three Broomsticks while he and Sirius are out making a little mischief on a full moon evening. He's not sure how the thing works, or what it does, but it ends up being quite a bit to bear anyway.


_It isn't really my story to tell, I suppose. But I knew then that he'd finally managed to grow up, so it's a story that should, at least, be heard. By whom? I don't know. I guess that isn't for me to say, either. By the time I met him again, my memory was already full of the things that hadn't happened... Or would happen... Time is a complicated thing, I will say that. And I always knew James was a troublemaker. It shouldn't have surprised me that he appeared that day..._

_

* * *

_

"What'd you think of the history lesson?" Remus asked. James turned to look over his shoulder at the Prefect, smirking as he made sure the other boy got a glance at the Head Boy badge he wore on his uniform robe. Sure, the werewolf may have beaten him once, but James couldn't resist showing off now. Unfortunately, Remus tended to know exactly what was on James' mind most of the time - it was why they were best friends, after all - so instead of being impressed, he just rolled his eyes.

"We had a lesson?" James finally asked. Sirius, who was walking next to him, elbowed him quite jarringly in the ribs, which drew a sharp intake of breath. "What was that for?"

"Because. It's our last year, and we should actually pay attention."

Peter smirked as he tried to stuff a couple books back into his bag. "And what was the lesson about then?" he asked, looking toward Sirius.

The black-haired boy paused.

"You don't know, do you?" Remus asked with a laugh. Peter, too, chuckled, but stopped when the inevitable question was asked: "You know, don't you, Peter?"

And Peter, too, was silent.

"Honestly," Remus sighed, rolling his eyes. "I thought it was very interesting. Control and regulation of the time-turner. You know what I could use _that_ for. Not that I would, but the thought did cross my mind."

"Oh, you mean to go back and tell your little self not to go waltzing around in the woods with werewolves?" James asked in his most sincere voice. The others laughed, but Remus only scowled.

"I do not _waltz,_" was the reply, which was delivered with the barest crack of a smile. "Anyway, I don't suppose we'd ever get into the trouble we get into now if it hadn't ever happened. You should all count yourselves _lucky _that I didn't go back."

"T'ch," Sirius replied. "Like you could get a hold of a time-turner anyway. Besides, you go mess with your past, and the whole future goes wonky. That's a lot of law-breaking, Remus. I'm surprised with you. It's like someone's been a bad influence on you or something."

"I thought you weren't paying attention!" Peter added, finally managing to get the books in his bag, and the bag slung over his shoulder.

"Oh, I think there's a lot about me that you lot probably don't know. By the way, there's a full moon tomorrow night, and I think we ought to go to Hogsmeade and pick up some Butterbeer. What d'you say, James?"

"I say we're in the neighborhood anyway."

"And I say that you--"

James cut Remus off. "Oh, don't worry, Moony. Ol' Wormtail'll stay with ya 'til we get back. We're running low anyway."

As usual, when it came to matters of breaking obvious rules, Remus stayed silent. It was for that that James was grateful, because it was a whole lot easier on his conscience when no one argued with him. Besides, they'd all be in the Shrieking Shack - as it was so called now - around that time. It'd be awfully easy for him and Sirius to just sneak out, head up to the village, and buy a few bottles of the stuff. Anyway, they were justified in that endeavor, because Remus always felt like hell the day after, and a little Butterbeer made him feel loads better. It was for _Remus_ they were doing this! Honest! However, he added for his friend's benefit, "Look, if it'll make you feel better, we'll bring the invisibility cloak along. Won't see how we'll need it, though."

"Yes, I would feel better." He nodded up ahead of them in the corridor where Lily Evans stood waiting for them. She somehow ended up finding them every day now, and she was starting to sort of grow on the Marauders. In fact, she alone knew that they were all Animagi... And that Remus was a werewolf.

"I did hear you, you know," was her greeting. "You should at least try to keep it down a bit."

"Ah, Lily, that's only because you were listening," James replied, gesturing to the other students in the hall. "You see them? They don't care. You, on the other hand, seem to always get your nose into other peoples' business. Some might find that annoying."

"You don't," she said. "Anyway, what are you planning?"

"Thought you heard us?" Peter questioned as Lily fell in step beside him and draped an arm over his shoulders. She snickered a bit.

"Well, I heard enough to know you need an invisibility cloak."

"They're going to Hogsmeade tomorrow night while I'm cooped up in that old barn," Remus said with a touch of bitterness. However, the tone didn't last long. "That just means we'll have plenty of Butterbeer soon, though. I think you should probably join us for a celebration."

"Celebrating what?" Peter wondered.

Lily, James noticed, didn't seem impressed with this, and he knew exactly why. It's because there wasn't any way she could go along. Whether she was Remus' friend or not, a werewolf on a rampage did not distinguish between the people it attacked. He knew what was coming. In fact, the both of them stated together, "I think you should teach me to be an Animagus."

Lily added a dejected "Hey!"

"Look, we've been over this, Lily," Sirius volunteered. "It's dangerous. We appreciate you keeping the secret, but it's not something we're gonna do."

"And the more people that can do it," Peter said, "The more chance there is that someone'll find us out." The plump boy nodded resolutely, and James hid a smile behind his hand. That was usually what _Remus_ would add when dissuading Lily from her fool's quest. Peter was rather good at copying the Prefect, though. And James, too, a lot of the time.

"Besides, Lily," James went on, slowing down enough to nudge Peter aside and drape his arm around the Head Girl's shoulders, "We all named each other, right? So if you were an Animagus, we'd have to give you a name like 'Hairy.' You wouldn't like that now, would you?"

She was thinking. He _knew_ she was thinking! Lily always had a great comeback, and the others always thought James was a bit slow for trying to match wits with Evans. However, her reply was a bit surprising. "Actually, I rather like the name 'Harry.' I suppose it would be all right."

"No, Lily." He was tempted, though. James always wondered what she'd be. Some sort of bird, he guessed... Or a bear, he added to himself, as she thumped him across the back of the head.

Remus, always the peacemaker, added. "Besides, it wouldn't be before tomorrow anyway. There's no way we can teach it all to you _now._"

"...But you'll think about it," she responded, seemingly mollified.

"We'll think about it," Sirius said.

* * *

It was just over a day later that a rather large dog and a stag made their way from the old shack into Hogsmeade village. At the threshold of the town, they changed back into students, which would have probably looked a bit odd to anyone watching. Thankfully, no one was around to see it... And pretty soon, no one would see either of them at all. Reaching into the pocket of his robe, James retrieved the wadded-up invisibility cloak, and draped it over his shoulders. 

"So, we get to the tavern, grab some Butterbeer, leave a couple Galleons, and get out of there," James said. "Just like usual. Then we have to make sure Remus doesn't break the bottles before tomorrow morning. We can leave 'em outside, I guess."

Sirius drew up a corner of the cloak and draped it over his own shoulder. It probably would have been simpler if one of them stayed behind, but there wasn't any challenge in that; it was boring! "I know. Same as every time. Merlin, I can't believe we're gonna be outta Hogwarts in less than a year now."

"Odd," James agreed, pulling the cloak the rest of the way over them both. Despite the fact that they were both rather tall, the hem of the cloak just reached the ground, covering them completely. Oftentimes, they wondered if the thing expanded a bit to accommodate all the people under it... Because occasionally Peter would come with them, and the cloak would _still _just reach the ground. And Peter was no small boy.

"No more raids on the Three Broomsticks," Sirius went on sadly. "Ah, well. All the better that we enjoy it now, then."

"Exactly," James responded, leading them onward toward their destination.

At night, the Three Broomsticks was a busy place. It became less a family environment, and more of a bar scene. That made it a bit difficult to maneuver around without getting stepped on or shoved, though the two of them always seemed to manage it. There had been a few close calls once in a while, but the fact was, no one had been caught yet. So it begged to reason that they wouldn't _ever _get caught! Of course, that was their youth speaking, and both James and Sirius knew that with every time they made it, the odds went up that next time, they wouldn't. Still, where would the thrill be if there was no risk?

So far, it was going fine. In fact, the place was decidedly not as crowded tonight, which meant that James and Sirius could simply walk through the bar without any trouble at all. The made it right past the counter and through the tables without being jostled even once, and that really should have been their first indication that something was going to go wrong, but neither of them paid any attention to that. Odds were for sissies.

James removed the cloak as they headed down the stairs into the tavern's basement, which doubled as a storage space. They knew right where the Butterbeer resided, and, wasting no time, James and Sirius grabbed a few bottles each. Setting his own on the floor, Sirius reached into a pocket at placed the payment right on the shelf where the Butterbeer had been. They weren't thieves, after all. Of course, the delay meant that they were still down there, uncovered, when they heard footsteps coming down the stairs. Thankfully James had the cloak ready, because he threw it over the both of them.

"Someone found this thing," one of the voices said. "Turned it into us; you know what this is, don't you?"

"Pretty rare, those," the other voice added. James watched through the cloak as one of the shadowy people placed some sort of object _right next to them_ on the shelf. He held his breath, hoping that the person would neither notice the missing Butterbeer, nor take two steps to the side where he'd almost surely run right into Sirius.

"They are rare. We're sending a courier to deliver this to Hogwarts tomorrow. The Headmaster'll know what to do with it. Can't have people getting into messing with _time,_ after all." The first voice sounded mystified, even awed. James fought not to move. Not to give any indication that he was there. The simplest sound on the wooden floor under them, and they'd be finished. _Just go,_ he silently willed, his eyes turning just enough so they could meet Sirius'.

"You don't suppose we should box it?" the second voice wondered.

"Naw. Ain't no one gonna come down here besides us," the first voice replied. Finally, he gestured back toward the steps, and the two intruders headed off, leaving James and Sirius alone again. James let out a sharp breath, and Sirius sank to the floor.

"Thought we were caught for sure that time," James stated. "We'll have to be a bit more careful next time, I think."

"We should," Sirius said, tossing the cloak aside again. "But the question is, will we?" After adding a couple more sickles to the shelf, he stuffed the bottles of Butterbeer into the pockets of his robe. In all, they'd have ten. Two each for the Marauders, and two for Lily. "Shall we go?"

"Wait a second," James said, reaching up to pull the little golden chain off the shelf. There was an hourglass on it, and it dawned on him right then and there what he was holding. It was one of those things Remus had been talking about!

"You're not gonna take that thing, are you?" Sirius asked.

"'Course not," James replied. "Wouldn't be ethical. But you know, they're going to deliver it to Hogwarts anyway, and _we're _going to Hogwarts..."

Sirius grinned. "We'll save 'em the trouble."

"Exactly," James replied, throwing the cloak over them again. "Now let's get out of here before we have any more close calls."

* * *

Remus was sprawled out on the floor, a cold compress on his head and a couple bandages on his face where he's managed to scratch it the night before. He never felt too great afterward, usually for a day or two. Sometimes longer, depending on how out of control he got on the night of the full moon. Since meeting James, Sirius, and Peter, the illness afterward hadn't even been a quarter as bad as it used to be, and for that, Remus was grateful. It was for that reason, too, that he tended to let the other three get away with a lot more than they should. He, as a Prefect, was technically obligated to put a stop to their troublemaking, but the cool Butterbeer he was nursing was all the payment he needed to make sure he didn't talk. 

That, and he just liked his friends a whole lot.

They were sitting around him - the other Marauders and Lily - up in the Gryffindor seventh year boys' dorms. As it practically lent to troublemaking, the five of them all managed to situate their schedules so they had the mornings off - except for Remus, who actually had NEWT Muggle Studies on Thursdays, but this wasn't Thursday, and they were alone. None of them had slept yet, except Lily, of course, since she hadn't gone with them.

"Y'know, we ought to sleep," James observed intelligently from the floor, leaning back to back with Peter, who was softly snoring already. Sirius was lying on the bed just above them, one long arm draping listlessly toward the floor. One grey eye opened and managed to look astonished at his friend.

"You've gotta be kidding me, mate. After a successful raid, you want to sleep? Hey, hey, what'd you do with that thing?"

"The Time-turner?" James asked, pulling it out of his pocket. This seemed to get Remus' attention, and he opened his eyes, pulling the compress off his head and turning his head enough so that he could look at the Head Boy. He used to have some measure of control over James. Technically, he still did. In their own House, the Prefect made the rules, even if, in the long run, James had more of a say than he did. The bespectacled boy continued, holding the hourglass out for them all to see. It dangled from the golden chain, which was actually a bit dingy now that they all were having a good look at it. The thing looked completely unassuming. "Don't worry, Moony. We didn't steal it. We're just borrowing it a bit."

Remus allowed his eyes to slide shut again. He knew his friends far too well. "No, you're going to try to use it. I suppose I should advise against that first of all." He sat up, trying to push back the dizzying nausea that accompanied the day after a full moon. "However, as you're going to go about it anyway..."

"That's the spirit, Remus," Sirius said, as James leaned forward to hand over the Time-turner. This upset Peter's sleep, and the somewhat pudgy boy awakened, dark eyes blinking toward the item that James was holding out.

"Wazzat?" He wondered, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

"Time-turner," James said. "Yesterday at the Three Broomsticks, some guy came down and stuck it on a shelf." He paused, looking at Remus, who was busy examining the thing. "He said he was gonna courier it to Hogwarts anyway, so Sirius and I figured we'd do the nice thing and save him the time and money."

"Sure you did," Lily said, speaking for the first time as she looked up from her Astronomy homework.

"Don't be like that, Lily," Sirius said, offering her a rather charming smile. Remus glanced up from his observations and rolled his eyes. He had to admit, though, that Sirius and James were awfully good at dragging people into things that they didn't want to be dragged into. There was a good chance that in ten minutes, Lily would be just as curious to find out how the Time-turner worked as Sirius and James were. And Peter... Peter idolized the both of them. He tended to go along with the decisions of the others. The only real thing standing in their way, Remus realized, was himself.

"So it's that thing from class a couple days ago?" Peter asked, walking on his knees across the floor and plopping himself down next to Remus, who held it out between them so they could both see. "Doesn't look all that special."

If he explained how it worked, Remus knew that James, at least, would have to try it. It was almost a rule... The more trouble they could potentially get into, the better. There was a split second there when the werewolf did consider telling the others that it didn't look special because it was broken, but he was way too tired to attempt to come up with a reasonable explanation as to why. So he sat there, blue eyes fixed accusingly on James.

"What?" the Head Boy asked. "What'd I do now?"

"Technically, you stole _that,_" Lily said, pointing to the small hourglass. "Even if you said you were borrowing it. Honestly, James. Sirius. What if you get hurt? What if you're caught?"

"We've been caught before," James said, waving the question off. He, too, made his way over to sit next to Remus, plucking the Time-turner out of the other boy's hands and putting it around his neck, while Sirius propped himself up on his elbows to watch. He looked at it for a second, then turned his eyes to Remus for an explanation.

The Prefect groaned. "I'm not in the mood to do this today."

"C'mon," Sirius insisted. "Do it anyway."

After a long pause, he pointed at the hourglass. "This one goes forward and back. There's these little dials at the bottom..." He pointed at the tiniest little bumps on the base of the hourglass that really looked like imperfections in the gold. "I don't know how to turn them, but the tic-marks next to them..." He pointed to those, too, "indicate what it's set to do. The last person to use this went to the future, and he jumped five years at a time."

"That doesn't make a lot of sense," James said, squinting at the little tic-marks. There were more dials, too, though they seemed to be unset. He pointed to them. "What're those for?"

"Well, you won't always want to jump years, will you?" Lily asked, coming over for a look. "You really should pay attention in class. See? Months, weeks, days, hours."

"You can set all of those?" Peter asked, leaning over Remus a bit to look at the Time-turner.

Remus nodded. "You can pick any exact point in history you want to visit. That's why they're so rare. And that is why," he looked pointedly at James, "They're strongly regulated. So I don't recommend you try it, because I can't tell you how to get yourself _back._" At the same time, he noticed James fiddling with the hourglass itself. He was discovering that it moved in its base. It turned.

And before Remus could react, James was turning it. Once. Twice... It was at that point that the Head Boy blurred and vanished, though Remus was sure he'd seen James turn it again.

"Well. That was interesting," Sirius commented, staring at the spot where James had been.

* * *

He didn't really feel anything besides the sudden rush around him. Everyone was gone. Returning. It... He didn't know. It happened in seconds. And when it was all over, he found himself right back where he started - in the Gryffindor dormitory. It was empty, but he could hear voices coming from the Common Room, so he wasn't quite alone. 

"What the...?" he wondered aloud, looking down at the small Hourglass that was still in his hand. Well, at least he knew how _that _worked now. He'd turned it three times as far as he could recall. So how far was he? It must have been five years he'd moved forward in time, and it must have just taken three turns to activate it. Right? Maybe? He probably should have listened a bit more to Remus before playing with the thing, but how was he supposed to know that turning it was going to make him travel through time?

He stood up, taking the Time-turner off his neck and putting it in the pocket of his robe. His fingers brushed the invisibility cloak, which was still there... And before he removed his hand from his pocket, he grabbed that. It would probably be a good idea to use it at this point, at least until he was sure about where he was. James, after all, was not stupid, despite the fact that he did fancy a little rule breaking now and then. Throwing the cloak over his shoulders, he headed for the door.

"Of all the dumb things..." he muttered to himself, quietly pushing open the door and stepping outside the room. The sign on the door no longer read 'seventh years' but 'first years.' That would make sense. After all, by now, James would be gone from Hogwarts. The thought crossed his mind that he could, perhaps, find himself and see what he was doing now.

As he headed down the stairs into the Common Room, he had to flatten himself against the wall to avoid three students dashing upward. By the time he regained his bearings, they were already past, and a black-haired boy, a red-haired boy, and a girl with hair that was way too curly disappeared into the first-year dormitory where James had just exited. It's a good thing he had that cloak with him, he thought to himself. Way too lucky. He was surviving way too much on luck lately. Still, he continued down to the Common Room. It had changed very little in five years. The same couches were still by the fire, people were still milling about and doing homework and other things... Still wearing the same uniform. "It's like I didn't go anywhere," James mused. A student nearby asked his friend if he'd just heard something, and that's about when James decided that he'd keep his musings silent from now on.

Despite the bravado, despite the claim that he'd not listened at all in class, the Head Boy knew very well that he couldn't be seen without facing heavy repercussions. After all, James Potter was probably the greatest wizard of all time by now, and what, really, would these poor students think if he were to suddenly appear among them, and at their own age, no less? Smirking to himself, he headed about the Common Room in order to find a newspaper. Hopefully they still printed the _Daily Prophet, _which was incredibly likely, since it was a very old paper. With any luck, he could find out a little bit about himself in addition to confirming the year in which he'd found himself.

It wasn't long before he found one on a table next to the fire. Expecting the year to read 1981, James was quite surprised to find that he hadn't traveled five years, but fifteen. The date clearly read 3 OCTOBER 1991, just above the script-like _Daily Prophet _header.

"Now what do I do?" James mused, this time silently. He had no idea how to get back. He stood there as a clock somewhere sounded ten times. Stood there as some of the students gathered up their things and left for class. And he stood there as the black-haired boy, the red-haired boy, and the bushy-haired girl returned to the Common Room, passed through it, and presumably went to classes themselves.

It's too bad they were too far away, because James thought he might have recognized the boy with the black hair. Feeling there was nothing to lose, he followed the trio through the portrait hole, but was dismayed to find that once he was outside of the House, they were already gone. There was a strong desire to find the boy and his friends then, though James couldn't quite explain it. As he pushed the portrait closed behind him, he noticed that it was still the Fat Lady, and she looked rather confused as the invisible hand closed up the portal into the House.

"So, fifteen years," he said to himself. There was no one around, so he felt all right talking out loud. "Fifteen years. Wonder if they took care of You-Know-Who yet. They must have. Hogwarts is still open." One of the portraits offered him - or rather, the empty-looking space which James occupied - a funny look as he headed down the stairs. "Hard to believe. Didn't think there'd ever be the day. I s'pose that's all right. Better than all right. Wonder who it was that finally got rid of him."

Automatically, he skipped over a step that was very well-known to give out on unsuspecting students. "Bet it was me. Bet I was all over the papers." The idea made him smile as he reached the landing... And he caught another glimpse of the black-haired boy and his friends through the thin weave of the cloth around him. They were heading outside. He had to follow!

The Entrance Hall was a lot more crowded than he would have liked, though, which meant that picking his way through the people there without being jostled or stepped on was quite a feat. In the end, James ended up pressing himself against the wall and shuffling his way around. By the time he reached the door and exited the castle, the black-haired boy was gone again. He sighed. Well, now that he was out here, he may as well walk around a bit. It was less likely he'd be bumped into out here than in the castle. And besides, he could walk down to the caretaker's cabin. He wondered if it was still Hagrid.

It did cross his mind that he should probably find his way back to his own time relatively quickly, given that messing with time was a rather dangerous thing. He couldn't affect his own time by doing anything here, but he certainly wouldn't want to jeopardize his future greatness from this point. Plus, he really didn't fancy a detention when he got back to school, either. He'd probably end up polishing trophies again along with that greasy little Slytherin, Severus Snape. Well, in the end, if James could show off his name on the Quidditch cup, it wouldn't be an entirely lost effort. He was almost getting himself lost in his thoughts when he heard voices coming from not too terribly far away. It would have been a crime not to investigate, especially because he was sure he'd heard the name "Potter." James drew closer, trying as carefully as he could not to allow the grass to crunch under his feet too much.

"...No, it's more like he just hangs around with Weasley and Granger all the time," a white-haired boy was saying to a dark-haired girl and two rather large boys. He wore the Slytherin crest on his robe. Ugh.

"Why are you so worried about it?" the dark-haired girl said.

"Because, Pansy, he's the Boy who Lived, and he's a Gryffindor. Who'd have expected it? All that talent, and he ended up in the worst House in Hogwarts. Can you believe a Gryffindor could defeat You-Know-Who? My father says that if-- Do you hear something?"

James had taken another step closer to hear better. It must have been one step too many. He froze in place, willing the boy to continue. Obviously, James hadn't been the one to defeat Voldemort, but... One of the students at the school had? It was beside the point that he wanted to deck the Slytherin boy for stating that Gryffindor was the worst House.

"I didn't hear anything, Draco," the one called Pansy replied. The two large boys shook their heads.

Draco looked around. He didn't seem satisfied. "I'm going to go back to the Common Room. We'll continue this there. I feel like I'm being watched."

James didn't follow them.

* * *

He had to sleep somewhere, and with the night came a bit of a chill. That was definitely out, since James was only wearing his dress shirt and trousers. One thing he did notice about the Hogwarts uniform was that it didn't change much in the years since he'd been "gone," but there were a few differences. The robes seemed lighter and bore a House crest instead of the general Hogwarts patch, for example. It made the young Gryffindor a bit jealous, since the patches were kinda neat. 

In any case, he figured he could get away with one of the private rooms in the hospital, if he just made sure to cover himself completely with that cloak. It seemed longer somehow, or maybe James was just tired, because it stretched from the top of his head to the edge of the bed with a bit of room to spare. Again, he was made sure of the fact that it adjusted to need, which was a feature that still amazed him.

As he lay there, he tried to imagine a scenario when someone came into the room and found him there. He had the door locked, so he'd probably hear it if it opened... A light sleeper, James was sure he'd be able to wake up in time and duck under the bed with his cloak before he was seen. It was a challenge - exciting and new - but at the same time, he found himself afraid. What would they do if they found young James Potter, who was obviously a great icon in this time period, hiding out in the hospital wing? For those reasons, he did have a bit of trouble getting to sleep, but when he did, it was an uncharacteristic deep sleep, which had him sleeping right through Madam Pomfrey's morning rounds.

There came a sound rap at the door. "Is anyone in there? Hello? You have to _check in_ before you can stay! Hello?" She knocked on the door again, and James blearily opened his eyes. Of course, when one is fifteen years into the future, they don't normally recall that fact at such an early hour. He was a bit confused, at first, to find himself in the hospital wing, but when the old witch pounded once again on the door, he was on his feet in the small room, staring at the door. By this time, the sound of keys fiddling in the lock filled his ears. The necessity to hide became apparent; he had the cloak, but how long before he was simply bumped into? It was at this point that James realized he'd made a gross miscalculation. He'd never fit under the bed. The thought of climbing out the window also crossed his mind, but a glance outside brought to memory the fact that he was currently five stories up. Though, as a Quidditch player, he was at home in the air, he had no broom to help him.

He squeezed back as far as he could into a corner, standing stock-still as Pomfrey finally got the door open. Through the fine mesh of the invisibility cloak, he could see her stern, yet confused face, glancing about the room as she did a quick search. It evidently seemed to the mediwitch that there was no one present. "Ruddy house elves," she muttered to herself, turning toward the exit again. One last look was offered to the empty room before she departed, leaving the door open.

James sighed. It hadn't exactly been a close call... Not like the one he and Sirius had in the Three Broomsticks... But this one would have carried along with it a few more consequences.

Then again, he could probably talk himself out of it. He was the Great James Potter, after all.

He wandered off, tip-toeing through the hospital carefully, picking up his feet with every step so that his boots never scuffed the floor. It didn't take long, really. Luck was on his side today, as there weren't that many sick students to tend to. Briefly, James wondered if Pomfrey ever met another werewolf after Remus Lupin, or if she had to care for anyone with a similar affliction. A vampire, perhaps.

As a Pure-blooded wizard, James had been raised in his youth to be accepting and discerning at the same time. Werewolves were dangerous creatures and deadly. Vampires were doubly so, because they were dangerous and in possession of their intelligence at the same time. Ghouls, well... They all knew one of those. A poltergeist, actually, by the name of Peeves, and he was absolutely dreadful. Knowing Remus had really made James - and the others, too - much more tolerant of creatures who weren't wholly human. More to the point, James really kinda wanted to meet a vampire, and he wondered - in wondering if there were any werewolves - if there were any vampires around, as well.

If ever he'd find one, it would probably be around Hagrid's cabin. He probably kept them as pets. James hadn't quite made it there yesterday, and he mentally decided that he would definitely go today. He sneaked down the stairs, and as he went, he seriously considered visiting the Gryffindor dormitories again. It wasn't until after he took a couple steps in that direction that he realized he didn't know the password anyway, and it would probably be better to just head outside right off.

The day was pleasant, but cool. All in all, it's what most would call normal for a day in early October. There were students about, and James noticed a couple flying about the Quidditch pitch. With the cloak still over him, he traversed down toward Hagrid's hut, making sure to keep out of the way of anyone at all. Given the fact that his shoes made footprints in the grass, he'd be easily spotted from close up. Since the cloak hadn't blown off yet in the light breeze, he stuffed his hands in his pockets and continued.

Two thinks happened at once. First, he spotted, those three Gryffindor first-years from yesterday heading up the path, and second, a strong gust of wind caught the cloak and lifted it right off him. Coincidentally, and, as luck would have it, there was cover... A couple trees stood nearby, and he ducked behind them, looking toward the cloak. It was at least ten good paces away, and he'd never get there without those kids seeing him. And in a moment, they'd see him anyway, once they finished climbing the hill and came around the tree. "I need to _hide,_" he muttered to himself through clenched teeth. His eyes roamed a bit, but there was nothing. He was going to be seen. "Need to hide..."

...Oh.

With the ease of one who's practiced such a feat before, James became a rather brilliant stag, feeling the comfortable dulling of his mind almost instantly. It was the perfect way to not be seen, really. And he seemed to recall there being heavy laws about letting someone find you back in the past. But this Animagus form was unregistered, and no one knew of it!

Then again, in the future, everyone knew of James the Great. Did they know of this, as well?

The voices became clearer as they got closer. It was the girl whom James heard first. "...Don't think it's a good idea anyway."

"Oh, come on, Hermione," said the red-haired boy. He stopped when he saw James standing there. The deer bent down to daintily munch on some grass. The red-haired boy wrinkled his nose a bit. "Rather tame, isn't he?"

"Probably one of Hagrid's," the other boy said. He was the one with the black hair.

"Really, Ron," Hermione continued, even if James resented being called 'one of Hagrid's.' She didn't appear to note the deer standing there beyond a passing glance. "Even if you were to get a quill to do your homework for you, what would be the point? You're with me on this, aren't you, Harry?"

The name sounded familiar. James couldn't place it.

"...Well, I have to admit, doing summer Homework with the Dursleys is going to be a bit of a task. They aren't too keen on all this... You know. The magic and all."

The name 'Dursley' was definitely recognizable. In fact, he knew that Vernon Dursley was the man whom Lily Evans' sister, Petunia, was dating. Lily described him as a horrible oaf.

The girl named Hermione rolled her eyes. "You've both got to be batty," she said. "You wouldn't even learn anything.

"Exactly," Ron replied.

It clicked in James' mind that 'Harry' was the name Lily said she liked. This was too much of a coincidence, and even through the deer's eyes, he could see that this Harry looked just like him. It couldn't be.

"Harry Potter," Hermione went on. "You're not actually going to stand here and let Ron..."

"Why did you even come with us?" Ron started asking, but stopped when the deer they'd been near took a step toward them. Potter. They'd said Potter. So this Harry... Harry was...

"Well, _I'm _going back to the castle!" Hermione snapped. "If you two want to argue about senseless magical quills, that's up to you. I've better things to do." And that's exactly what she did. Ron and Harry watched as the frizzy-haired girl stormed off toward the castle. There was a bit more said, but James didn't hear it. In fact, he had just barely enough presence of mind to make sure that he didn't change back to his own self right then, and run to meet his... son?

It wasn't until after they were well on their way that he changed and slowly made his way over to the cloak to pick it up. He was just about to throw it over himself again when...

"James Potter. I've been expecting you. Looks like you're right on time."

He turned around to come face to face with... "Professor Dumbledore!" He fumbled with the cloak for a moment, but the old wizard held up a hand.

"I was hoping to catch you before you saw certain things, but alas, I seem to have been a bit too late. It seems that marvelous cloak you have... Well. It seems you've done quite the job of hiding from me. I was told you'd be here, though... And here you are. A nice day, isn't it?"

James stared, a bit dumbstruck. "You... knew I was..."

"You see," Dumbledore continued, "Fifteen years ago yesterday, a James Potter appeared in my office, handed me a time-turner, and told me exactly what he did. It ended with me finding him here, by these trees, and leading him up to my office. So why don't you put that cloak on, and I'll take you there? Wouldn't want to create an error in time, would we?"

James put the cloak over his head. "No, sir, but..."

"Ah, I always liked days like this. Good for time traveling, I'd say. Wonderful for traveling."

* * *

It's funny... He'd never actually been in Dumbledore's office before. All the times he'd gotten in trouble... All the things he'd done... And he'd never been sent here before to face the Headmaster himself. Sure, James had _talked _to the Headmaster, had even been disciplined by him on several occasions, but never had he seen the inside of the office itself. It was a wonderful place, and for once, the young Gryffindor was not at all tempted to make trouble. Perhaps it was because he was already in enough trouble as it stood, or maybe he was in awe. Either way, there was a phoenix staring at him, and it was enough to distract him from much of anything. 

"It's already been set to the time you've given," Dumbledore stated, setting the gadget on the desk in front of him. "You've done right not to interfere, you know. There are certain things..."

"Certain things, Sir?" James prompted, finally tearing his eyes away from Fawkes. But Dumbledore remained silent for a while, instead looking out a thick-glassed window to the trees in the distance. It got to a point where James thought the old man might have forgotten anyone else was in the room, but then he turned around.

"Ah, time is a complicated thing, James Potter. There are things you realize today. Things... You realize must come to pass. Even if you..."

"You don't have to worry, Professor Dumbledore," the boy said, his voice steady.

"Don't I?" The Headmaster asked, somewhat amused. James did admire that about him. Even in a situation like this when James had seen... Well, he wasn't sure if he'd _actually _seen. It might have just been a coincidence. That was a doozy of a coincidence, though! James was about to explain, though he was interrupted, first by the croak of the phoenix, then by Dumbledore. "Surely there must be questions you want to ask. Things you want to know..."

Fawkes hopped down from his perch, hobbled over to James, and required attention. The phoenix seemed very old, almost as if it were time for him to burn. In addition, it curiously seemed to have recognized him. James supposed that in the future, they must have met before this time. "I do, Sir, but I think I'm better off not knowing."

The old man's blue eyes looked down on him, curiously. Though he was clearly under scrutiny, James didn't feel the least bit uncomfortable. Dumbledore's chin tilted upward, just slightly. "And why is that, Mister Potter?"

It was for a lot of reasons, James thought to himself, though he'd never admit them out loud. It was strange enough to know he had a son... He didn't want to know how, nor where he, himself was now... Knowing anything could... Well, even James knew full well he could choose to take a different path, and none of this would come to pass. Harry would never exist, possibly. In the end, James just shook his head, fingers curling around the cloth of the cloak in his lap. "Sir, can I ask you to do a favour? For Harry, I mean. He wouldn't even..."

"If it's in my power, I will, James. But I can't allow you to manifest yourself in this time. You have to go back." One long finger reached forward to nudge the Time-turner toward the boy, and a smile tugged at old, slightly cracked lips.

James shifted the cloak again, then set it up on Dumbledore's desk. "I won't need this anymore. Can you give it to Harry for me? Please? It's just that I'm leaving Hogwarts this year... We can do without it..."

For a moment, those aged blue eyes widened, looking at James, looking at the cloak. Then he reached forward and took the old cloth, folding it carefully and placing it in front of him. "There's nothing wrong with that, Mister Potter." He paused, then added, "Remember, you must not change the course of time."

"I know, Professor." He felt like he'd grown up too fast as he reached forward to take the Time Turner. "I suppose you'll be a bit surprised when I show up in your office." Already, his fingers were on the hourglass, turning it. One...

"I will be. But I think it'll be all right."

Two...

"Goodbye, James."

Three.

He was gone, and Dumbledore was left alone with the cloak that had been destroyed many years earlier in a horrible fire.

* * *

"So, what happened?" 

"Did you get in trouble?"

"I told you that you ought to have _listened_ to me, James."

Peter, Sirius, and Remus in that order. A moment earlier, James walked through the dormitory door, only to watch himself disappear right before his very eyes. It was surreal, really. Then again, they couldn't have possibly been in the same place at the same time. Not without risking something dreadful... It's a good thing James went with his first instinct and _didn't _say hello to himself.

Of course, his return seconds after he left meant that the others were very confused.

"I told you, the thing sent me right back. There has to have been some sort of ward on the castle." He shook his head, looking sheepishly up at Lily, who was standing, staring at him with her hands on her hips. James felt the need to offer a "Don't worry," followed by, "I ended up in Dumbledore's office. I have detention for a week, but other than that, I had to give the Time Turner back. And the cloak..."

"The cloak?" Sirius pressed.

"Destroyed." He looked pretty destroyed, himself. That cloak was the one reason they were able to sneak into Hogsmeade for Butterbeer. The others stared at him, agape. "So enjoy those last bottles, boys... And Lily. Because that's all we're gonna get."

* * *

_I doubt he would have given it to me had he not known that his time must have been limited. Even after he returned to me that day fifteen years ago, I had no idea how much he'd grown up in less than a day. I have it sitting here on my desk even now... The temptation to tell him everything was very great, though his mannerism alleviated that, in a way. I knew I couldn't tell him, anyway, and he understood. I know how he lived past that, and I know he lived a good life. A full life. One day, I shall tell Harry that his father visited me almost ten years after his death, but for now, that's a secret that must be kept, for Harry's sake._

_This cloak, however, need not be kept, for it is not mine to keep. The Christmas holiday is approaching, and I am certain that while I cannot disclose the fact that James Potter was under the possession of an illegally acquired Time-turner, surely I can give young Harry this last gift from his father._

_It amazes me how much one is capable of love, and it is no wonder that, even today, Harry Potter is still with us._


End file.
